Monday, June 29, 2009

I'm so proud...well, mostly...

Out of all of the possible Cruze-kid combinations, Josh and Lydia generate the most conflict by far. Of course, all of the kids bicker from time to time with one another, but none quite so explosively as those two. It's gotten better since summer began (having Emma and Ben around to entertain/distract them has been invaluable). But there were spans of days on end when I would dread the non-stop fighting and screeching that seemed intrinsic in their interactions. Neither one was willing to give the other an inch, they were prepared to fight to the death over whatever object caught their fancy. Like I said: getting better. But still strongly colors my perception of their relationship.So that's the background information, the context for today's event.We were at swim practice this morning for Emma and Ben. There are lots of other little kids who come with their older siblings as well, so they all play together. This day a few kids had brought their plastic light sabers. There were three or four not in use, so Lydia and Josh each asked for and obtained permission from the mom of those sabers to play with them. All of the kids generally play in a big grassy field behind the patio area where the moms sit. I turned around to investigate when I heard Josh hollering in a near panic, "No! NO! Give that back!! You can't just grab it!" you can imagine what I expected to find: Josh and Lydia locked in a tug-of-war over the light sabers or something like that. Instead I felt a quick rush of maternal pride that nearly choked me. Another kid (a little older than Lydia) was trying to take Lydia's light saber away from her and Josh was heroically stepping in. He gruffly yanked it away from the perpetrator and turned to Lydia and lovingly handed it to her with a sweet, "Here you go, Lydia." "Thanks, Josh."I realize Josh did not exactly handle the situation perfectly. He was not so kind to the saber-grabber as he could have been. But the kid was not upset about it, and I was so proud of seeing him play the part of protector and sticking up for his little sister who drives him crazy most of the time I decided a lecture on manners could wait.

My favorite part of having children is to see them love eachother. They beat up, tease and torment relentlessly, but they also stand up for one another and love fiercely. These are moments to cherish. Yay for Josh!

aww that is so sweet. Although, are you sure your kids fight? It can't be. They are always so good in primary. I told Kase this story and he said maybe they were fighting over who says the prayer. haha. :)

Five people call me mom. They do it like this...

"Mom, are we doing anything tonight?""Mom, I'm still hungry.""Mom, when I grow up I want to be the ninja of fighting and stealth.""Mom, what if the whole world is just a giant pop-up book?""Mom, the most disgusting collection of all would be...a booger collection."